By 'I'll try to update soon!' I apparently meant in about half a year. . . Gah. Forgive me? I'm so sorry! Some one please yell at me for being lazy. . . it might remind me to update faster?

Disclaimer: I dun own Naruto. Get over it already.

"So, um. . ."

"Wanna go out for ramen?" Kiba asked suddenly. "You know, like on a date. For a little change of things?" He added when Hinata didn't reply. Now she was blushing again.

She nodded. Suddenly, she was feeling oddly meek. It's not like people had never seen her and Kiba out in public together before. True, Shino was usually also with them, but it wouldn't be that much different without him, would it?

"You think too much," Kiba told her after waiting another moment. "It's a yes or no question."

"S-sorry Kiba-kun! L-let's go f-for ramen!"

"Grab our story too, okay?"

Apparently, Kiba was more into this story than she had thought. For a while, she assumed that he had completely forgotten it. Actually, it was kind of sweet that he could take the time to remember. He must have realized how much it secretly meant to her.

In a few minutes, Hinata had shouted a brief good bye to her dad, who was at the other end up of the house, and they left. "I didn't know you could yell at all," Kiba teased her along the way. "So, what did you write about?"

"N-nothing much," she replied. "Yuka wrote a love note to Noburu. Then she left to deliver it. I-I wrote down something about Saika being a witch and that she was planning to kill Yuka for Noburu's love."

"So," he said. "You can write about killing people, but I can't write bi. . ."

"N-No," Hinata interrupted. She wasn't all that fond of swearing. "I-it's two entirely different things."

Kiba rolled his eyes playfully and Akamaru yipped as they approached the Ramen shop. Kiba glared as they got close enough to see that Naruto was already there, slurping up ramen like a pig. His wallet was on the table next to him, along with three empty bowls.

Hinata either didn't notice Kiba's dirty looks, or pretended not to care. It was probably the former, as her pace quickened slightly.

Naruto took a brief moment to look away from his food. "Hey, Hinata!"

"H-hi, Naruto-kun," she said. She wasn't blushing nearly as much as usual. In fact, she was hardly blushing at all. However Kiba was an extremely jealous person.

He sat down next to Hinata and glared through her, at Naruto. The blond boy noticed, of course. "What's with you?" he asked.

"Nothing," he muttered, looking away.

He and Hinata placed their orders for ramen and he tried to avoid looking in Naruto's direction. However that proved not to be so easy when the other boy tried to strike up a conversation with Hinata. Why was he paying attention to her just now anyway!?

Naruto babbled on with a story about something he heard one of the other genin say, and Hinata added an occasional comment here and there. Then when he moved on to brag about how much progress he was making in his ninja training, Kiba just had to butt in. "That's nice but Kurenai-sensei says that in half a year, I'll be nearly twice as strong as I am now!"

"No way," said Naruto. "You're making that up."

"I am not!" Kiba growled at him. From his comfortable spot on Kiba's head, Akamaru barked in agreement.

"So? I'll be three times as strong and you still won't be able to beat me!"

"Yeah right! You just lucked out back in the exams," Kiba said.

"U-um. . ." Hinata stuttered, suddenly nervous to be seating between the two.

"It wasn't luck and you know it!" Naruto said. "I totally won using my awesome skills, that you clearly lack!"

"Which would be why your sensei doesn't even want to train you. Everyone knows he spends all of his time with Sasuke, because he's the only one on your pathetic team with any talent!"

"How do you know that!?"

"Everyone knows it, stupid. People talk about it all over the village."

"T-that's a b-bit exaggerated," Hinata said, looking for any possible way to break up the argument.

"Well, I don't see you getting any personal training. You're not so special either."

"All of us get trained, dimwit, because Kurenai-sensei actually does her job. Anyway, I'm still better than you. I'm more popular, aren't I? And I can get a girlfriend, unlike someone."

'Where is he going with this. . .?' Hinata wondered, uneasily. The fact that so many people were staring at them now didn't help much either.

"Really? Where is she?" Naruto asked. "I feel sorry for that pathetic loser if she's that desperate!"

Suddenly Akamaru broke out into a fit of barking and Kiba growled. "Take that back, Naruto. . ."

'Naruto doesn't mean that,' Hinata reassured herself. 'He doesn't mean it, he doesn't mean it. . ." At times like this, she hated herself for being self-concious.

"Why should I?"

"Because you just said that to her face!"

Suddenly Naruto looked puzzled. He glanced at Hinata, then at Kiba. "You mean. . ." he started. "Hinata!?"

Oh God. Her face was flushing again. It was nice of Kiba to stand up for her but. . .

"What do you think?"

Then he took Hinata completely by surprise and pulled her to him, kissing her lips gently. Now everyone was staring at them, and Hinata felt her face turn tomato red as Kiba let go of her and she nearly fainted. Naruto was completely speechless. So was everyone else. Kiba smirked, but remained quiet as he enjoyed the baffled look on Naruto's face.

Then, after several minutes, someone finally spoke again. "Uh. . . sorry if I'm interrupting anything, but your ramen is done. . ."

Actually, it had been done for several minutes, but he didn't feel the need to add that in.